Peaceful Times
by The Wandering Swordsman
Summary: Inspiration from ONE PIECE episode 337. Zoro experiences nostalgia. If you want to squint and say it's ZoroxLuffy/LuffyxZoro, be my guest.


**Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece.**

The Thousand Sunny had many things that took the Straw Hat Piratecrew's breath away. Once caught into their eyes, they had different opinions for it: happy, curious, wonder, amazement. Zoro was not excluded. He had one also, but it was something no one could have guessed the Pirate Hunter would feel towards. Yes, the training room but that wasn't it.

It was the swing just outside on the lawn.

When he saw the object hanging on the tree he froze and stared at it in wonder. His steady heart began ticking with a long lost feeling: nostalgia.

Eleven years. Eleven years had passed since he saw a swing. Did he want to ride on it? Yes, yes he did, but he was not going to ride it in front of his crew. Probably they would laugh at him (Nami and Sanji especially) since he was too mature to be swinging on a child toy. Those times, he envied the Funny Trio. So, he kept a straight face at the swings and turned his back onto it to find some other rooms he could rate.

-.-.-

_Zoro...Zoro...Do you want to go on the swings?_

_You go on it first and I'll push you._

Push me, just how you push me toward my dream.

_Zoro, doesn't it feel like you're flying?_

Push me, urge me on and I will promise to become the greatest.

_Wow Zoro! You're up so high!_

Are you still watching me? Watching me grow stronger, getting closer to the top...Kuina?

-.-.-

Night fell and everyone had gone to bed. Zoro left the dormitory, telling them that he left his swords up in the training room. The sky was clear of stars because of the bright moon lighting up the night in a pale milky color. There was a chilly ocean breeze and the swing rocked back and forth slowly. The swordsman took a quick trip up the training room to retrieve his swords and returned back to the lawn.

Zoro approached the swing. He carefully lined up his swords back against the trunk of the tree. He then laid his hand on the surface of the seat. It was just like the one at Kuina's home.

"Only a minute...I'm only going to swing for a minute." Zoro repeated like a mantra as he seated himself. He brushed his fingers over the coarse ropes gently like the strings of a harp. A strong feeling swelled up inside him and he started grinning cheerfully like a child. He gripped the ropes tight and kicked his feet off the ground.

The ropes uncurled a little as it supported Zoro's weight but it did not creak. The swings were cooperating with the swordsman because it was as silent as the night. Zoro swung his legs out to keep the momentum. At first he was staring down at the ground to watch the lawn go by in a blur, but as the swing picked him up higher, he started scanning the landscape. The ocean was just like all of the other oceanic scenes had had seen but it was a different perspective when on the swings.

One second he saw the sea all the way to the horizon, and the next second it was gone, hidden by Thousand Sunny's walls. When Zoro raised his head up to see the moon, his smile suddenly vanished. Up in the branches where the swings' ropes were tied sat a silhouette.

"L-Luffy! What are you doing up there?" Zoro hissed, wishing that the blush on his face could disappear. How long Luffy had been up there, and why didn't he feel his presence?

"I was looking for you because you were taking too long." Luffy flipped around so he was hanging off the branch and scrutinized Zoro's face, "Why are you on the swings?"

If it were the other crewmembers who asked this, Zoro would had covered up the truth and said something else. He trusted them-he did-but when it came to his past, he preferred to lock the doors. He was extremely relieved that it wasn't Nami who found him-she might have taken some pictures and blackmail him, later becoming her slave. This was Luffy who, for some unknown reason, Zoro felt comfortable telling him.

Zoro rocked his body to increase the swinging pace, "Whenever I lost to her, she always tried to make up for it by letting me play on her swing set. I guess she knew I liked it." Zoro never mentioned her name and Luffy never asked.

"I rode on it every time...every time I lost. It's kind of weird because I was given a treat for losing, but I was still a kid and just the word 'swing' made me stupidly happy. Those swings were the only place where I felt I was feeling higher than anyone...even her."

Suddenly, Zoro's voice came to a halt and he fell silent. Luffy shuffled back onto the branch and patiently waited for Zoro to continue.

"...one day an...incident happened and I never went on that swing again. Sensei tore it down because it brought too many memories," he dropped his eyes to the lawn, "that's kind of why I wanted to swing-if I could experience that same feel again..."

"Did you?"

Zoro fell silent. In the meantime, he bent his legs to pull the swing back and launched them back forward to thrust the swing forward, "Nah, it doesn't feel the same..." he saw the pout on Luffy's face and he quickly added, "I still like it but-"

The swordsman stopped in mid-sentence because he saw Luffy leap down and run behind him, "Luffy what are you-Whoa!" Zoro cried out in surprise when a sudden strong force from behind pushed him up really high, enough to get his boots stuck in the tree branches, "Luffy!"

Luffy had his arms stretched out and he laughed, "Is this how she did it?" Zoro fell silent and his eyes were wide, "Since she's not here anymore, it's my job to push you now!"

Zoro looked over his shoulder to look into those deep onyx eyes. He swore he didn't mention about Kuina pushing him. He decided not to think any harder; Luffy's mind was unpredictable. A smile broke the swordsman's usual hard features. When inertia pulled him back, this time he felt the palm of his captain's strong hands graze against his back as he was given another push.

He felt the warm giddy feeling now and he was laughing.

"...Luffy?"

"Yah?"

"Can you push me higher?"

Luffy laughed, "Sure, but promise me that when my time comes, you push me!"

Zoro snickered and beamed at Luffy, "Okay Captain."

**The End**


End file.
